


Where is the love ?

by GiffGaff (Sardon)



Series: Trick or Treat?  :) [4]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Family Drama, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, Modern Era
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-05-08 12:13:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5496689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sardon/pseuds/GiffGaff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As far as Merlin is concerned he has never known the true meaning of the word love. Then he met the pendragon family and it goes from there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mad world

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PokemonFan915](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PokemonFan915/gifts).



Gaius settled the little bundle in his arms on to the sofa and wrapped his coat over it, trying not to wake the sleeping form of a little boy. Walking softly into the kitchen Gaius had to try and come up with a plan of how to explain why a four year old boy was currently asleep on Uther Pendragons sofa. Of course he would find it a lot easier to explain if he understood what had happened himself.

Gaius studied the clock knowing that as every minute went by it was getting closer to having to face up to Uther and telling him what he had done. Uther already had two children who were currently away for the week at their uncle Agravaine’s in London, this had been the first time since Arthur had been born that Uther has had a while away from his children so that he could have some time for himself. Gaius couldn’t bare to find out how he would react to seeing someone else’s child that he didn’t know on his sofa. 

To pass the time away Gaius decided to make the little boy who was snuggled up on the sofa a small hot chocolate along with some toast which had a little amount of butter on it. When Gaius had made his way back to the sofa with the hot chocolate in on hand and the toast in the other, the little boy was startled to hear his footsteps and shot upright, along with beginning to breath heavily and bringing his legs towards himself and hugging them.

“It’s alright,” Gaius reassured the little boy, the little boy just looked at him blankly as if he spoke a completely different language. As the boy proceeded to wake up properly and looked at Gaius with more detail he face began to crumple up and tears were forming in his eyes but Gaius knew what to do.

“Hey don’t cry your safe I promise” Gaius said which made the boy stop in his tracks for a minute before he stumbled out a “Sorry sir, scared, sorry” before hiding his face. “You have nothing to be sorry for and you don’t need to be scared either, your safe now” Gaius responded in a gentle tone, trying his absolute best not to frighten the boy any more than he already was. If Gaius was honest with himself he too was slightly scared of how this evening would plan out.

“Now take some toast and drink this hot chocolate, you need this “ Gaius said in the same tone as before, however this time Merlin didn’t cry or try to hide instead he was calm enough to take a slice of toast and a sip of hot chocolate. In the end the little boy had managed to eat four slices of bread along with having drunk the whole hot chocolate despite his skinny frame.

As Gaius was clearing away the plate and cup that had been used, the little boy kept flinching at the cluttering noise that the plate made as it was put against the worktop which Gaius noticed. “I’m only putting this plate away, I will come back in a minute and sit with you” Gaius offered which the boy seemed to accept. When he sat back down on the sofa the little boy instantly put his head onto Gaius’s thigh as the boy curled up into a little ball next to him just like a cat while sucking his thumb and looking relaxed , in a time frame of five minutes the little boy fell asleep which gave Gaius a warm feeling. The same feeling that Uther gets when his kids are fast asleep.

The peace and quiet in the atmosphere was soon broken when the front door opened and Uther came into the living room, his eyes went wide as soon as he saw the little boy curled up next to Gaius. “Who is he and why is he asleep next to you on my sofa” Uther whispered, Gaius hated how scary Uther could sound in a single whisper. 

Gaius sighed. “His name is Merlin and he is an emergency case as police found him locked in what was assumed to be his bedroom on his own”. 

“But why is he here” Uther asked, this time his tone of voice sounded more friendly but still firm.

“There was no one who could take him at such short notice he was only found this morning” Gaius explained. Uther still didn’t look entirely convinced so Gaius gently removed Merlin’s head from his thigh and replaced it with a cushion so he and Uther could talk in private. “His parents had gone away abroad and abandoned him, when police were informed they went to the house, there was no food or water to be seen, the house was a mess and there were empty bottles of vodka everywhere along with the smell of stale cigarettes, but when they finally found their way to Merlin’s bedroom it was... unimaginable of the state the room and Merlin was in”. Gaius looked as if he wanted to cry for Merlin.

Uther ran a hand through his hair. “How long do we have him for”? Uther asked now concerned for Merlin’s physical and mental health. 

“As far as I know we only have him for the week however the plan can change but only if he appears to be doing well and getting comfortable around these surroundings as if he isn’t then he will be put into the care system”, Gaius explained.

At this point Gaius looked as if he was close to tears again; Uther could see how much this kid meant to Gaius even if he had only known him for a few hours. Uther was also aware that Gaius had been working for these sorts of people for years and had never been on a case as serious as this before. 

“Alright Gaius I tell you what since you have helped me look after my kids for a long time I’ll let him stay for the week and if things go well we could think about extending the length of his stay”.

Before Gaius even got the chance to say thank you Merlin had woken up and flinched when he saw Uther who was taller than Gaius which made his face crumple up again but this time he was actually crying and loudly for that matter. 

Gaius slowly walked up to Merlin while Uther watched from a distance, Gaius then stroked Merlin’s hair to calm him down before pointing out that it was eight in the evening which would mean bed time for Uther’s two kids. Merlin then looked up as if he was pleased to hear the phrase bed time; he suddenly stopped crying and sniffed noisily before Gaius offered to take him to bed. The boy nodded which lead to Gaius having to pick him up and carry Merlin by lifting him on to his shoulder, Merlin snuggled his head under Gaius’s chin and held tightly to his shirt as Gaius carried him up to bed.

The next day was full of surprises for all three of them.

Firstly Gaius and Uther were woken up by the sounds of crying at half past six in the morning. Gaius went into Merlin’s room to find him curled up into himself with a line full of tears rolling down his cheeks. Gaius couldn’t ignore Merlin’s emotions of deep fear. “Hey Merlin shush its ok, you’re okay, shhhh” Gaius cooed until Merlin stopped, his eyes still watery and begging Gaius for comfort which he was more than willing to give. Once everything had calmed down, Merlin broke the hug between him and Gaius and repeatedly apologised even when Uther came into the room. “No need to apologise, we don’t mind” Uther said unexpectedly which earnt him a smile from Gaius. “Didn’t mean to wake you, sorry” Merlin mumbled before Gaius picked him up and asked if he wanted breakfast which got Merlin interested but worried at the same time. 

Once Gaius persuaded Merlin to get dressed, Uther had to borrow some of Arthur’s old clothes which were far too big for Merlin as they hung off his thin figure but they had to make do with what they had. When Uther had made all three of them breakfast it took a while to properly convince Merlin to eat any. In the end Gaius had turned breakfast into a race to see who could finish first, Merlin ended up winning and the proud look on his face made Gaius give Merlin his widest smile even if he had let Merlin win. 

However the fun soon ended when Uther began to curse faintly so Merlin couldn’t hear. “What’s the matter”? Gaius asked with concern in his voice which Merlin did pick up on causing him to look around for a hiding place if necessary. “Morgana and Arthur are coming home today” Uther replied while looking directly at Merlin without him noticing. Gaius rubbed his eyes before speaking, “we should just tell them that we have a visitor who needs to stay with us for a few days”. Uther didn’t look entirely convinced which showed when he asked, “what if they ask questions, what am I supposed to tell them”. Gaius replied with, “say that he is a guest so we should treat him as part of the family”, Uther nodded in agreement.

Morgana and Arthur were due to arrive home at two o clock and Uther had nothing prepared as an afternoon snack. It wasn’t until one o clock when Merlin mentioned the idea of having pizza, Uther had never been keen on making their kids junk food but for once he decided to give his kids a treat. 

Soon enough it was two o clock in the afternoon, when the doorbell rang it startled Merlin which caused him to run off to hide behind the sofa, his eyes watching the two people walk through the door, both smiling and giggling. Merlin then heard Uther telling them about him being a new guest in their house. One of the two people then walked up towards the sofa then climbed on to the sofa and saw Merlin’s stare. 

“Hello Merlin I am Morgana, pleased to meet you”. Morgana was six years old and very mature for her age, all Merlin did was nervously stand up and walk next to Morgana cautiously. Morgana then took his hand and slowly walked him over to Arthur, “and this is Arthur he is four years old, the same age as you actually” Morgana stated proudly. However the happy atmosphere was soon interrupted when Arthur blurted out “he stinks and he looks strange”. Merlin then shot off behind the sofa and began to sob which got him a yelled out shut up from Arthur.

“Merlin come back”! Morgana called before adding “Arthur is always like that”, which was the pure truth as Arthur had always been the challenge of the family since he had started his terrible two’s. 

“Daddy, Uncle Gaius, Arthur upset Merlin” Morgana called which got her and Arthur removed from the crying scene by Gaius to try to calm Merlin down. After spending the next hour with Merlin he had eventually calmed down enough to be brought into the kitchen to eat his pizza.

Uther and Gaius weren’t stupid, they knew there would be a few arguments but with their hearts set into getting Merlin settled and happy, they were determined to make this work no matter what was going to happen.


	2. A shaky start towards the future

Throughout dinnertime Morgana and Arthur talked about various events that had happened during their stay with their uncle Agravaine. Morgana told her father and Gaius about their visit to the zoo along with bringing home a toy tiger as a souvenir, while Arthur wanted to tell them all about the sweet shop that was just five minutes away from where they were staying, which had those huge lollipops that had taken him a whole day to finish. With all the different topics of conversation the meal went slowly enough for Merlin to eat his pizza in his own silence, even he had been the last one to finish.

“Did you enjoy that”? Gaius whispered to him before clearing his plate. Merlin gave him a weak nod in response.

Uther was determined to avoid Merlin’s gaze, but he caught the nod and the tiny smile that came with it.

Once Gaius and Uther had finished washing up and tidying away all three children were yawning which they could sympathise with.

“Who wants a glass of milk before bedtime”? Uther asked. None of the children had the energy to argue with him, however he notice tension starting to build up in Merlin and Arthur.

“Morgana why don’t you tell Merlin about our bedtime routine”? Gaius suggested, taking away some of the tension.

Returning to the kitchen Uther and Gaius heard Morgana speaking quietly to Merlin.

“First we drink our milk down here while daddy tells us a story about how his day has been before uncle Gaius tells him about all the nice things we have done while daddy was at work. We then get carried upstairs into our rooms where we put on our pyjamas then we get daddy to read us a story while we sit on our own beds, and then we get tucked into our own beds with a goodnight kiss”.

By the time Morgana had finished her last sentence Uther and Gaius had come back from the kitchen two glasses in Uthers hands leaving Gaius with one in his right hand. 

Uther began handing out the two glasses of milk to his children who politely accepted the milk, on the other hand Merlin was completely puzzled at what he should do.

“Come here Merlin” Gaius said, his voice kind and gentle. Merlin took a second to react before standing up and moving towards Gaius and the glass of milk which he was still holding.

Carefully taking the glass of milk into his own hands Merlin drank it slower than the other two had.

“Why is he taking so long”! Arthur snapped, glaring at Merlin as if he was a disease.

“Arthur don’t be rude”! Morgana hissed before adding in a quieter voice “sorry Merlin”.

Once the children were taken up the stairs to bed that was when things started to get shaky between the three children.

“Why is he wearing my pyjamas”! Arthur yelled, pointing a finger at Merlin who was dressed in one of Arthur's spare sets of pyjamas.

“He needs to borrow them for now” Uther replied, his body language showing large amounts of exhaustion.

“Tell him to take them off”! Arthur screamed, his face red and angry.

“He can borrow mine daddy” Morgana offered as she took out her spare set of pyjamas which were a dark pink colour, decorated with a hello kitty pattern.

“You wet yours”! Arthur shouted spitefully.  
“Only sometimes” Morgana responded quietly, her cheeks blushing with embarrassment.

By this time Uther was at a loss of what to do, luckily Gaius had come into the room to help.

“Arthur Merlin has no choice but to borrow yours so stop making a fuss”. Arthur didn’t say another word about the pyjama situation.

Up to this point Uther and Gaius thought the hard part was over, however it was just around the corner.

“Daddy put me to bed”! Arthur yelled before Morgana tugged at her dad's arm nicely asking if he could tuck her into bed. All Merlin did was stand near the door to the spare room waiting quietly for Gaius to tuck him into bed.

Uther knew he couldn't put his kids to bed without help from Gaius, but he could also see that his kids had been spoilt rotten by their uncle Agravaine for a whole week while Merlin had roughly spent the first four years of his life abandoned with only having one proper night in a warm loving home. Uther signalled Gaius to put Merlin to bed, hoping that he could cope without Gaius's support.

Meanwhile Gaius had lifted Merlin up to his shoulders which Merlin took as an opportunity to snuggle into them before allowing Gaius to gently lower him on to his bed. Gaius took out a small story book from his pocket that he usually read to Arthur. Merlin showed the same amount of enjoyment as Arthur did as Gaius read the story in his low soothing voice. 

Out of his two children Morgana was the easiest to put to bed. She didnt interrupt him once while he read her a story. When the story had finished she had even suggested that he should go to Arthur before he screamed the house down.

“Goodnight princess sleep well” Uther said before kissing the top of her head, turning off the light and walking silently out of the door.

Arthur who was in his bedroom was impatiently waiting for his favourite story book which Gaius had borrowed to read to Merlin. When it was returned Arthur scowled without saying a word. As Uther had been reading the story Arthur had constantly been interrupting and asking loads of questions some which werent even relevant to the story. Usually Uther would resort to Gaius for guidance however this time he ignored Arthur's consistent questions and finished the story. Arthur was fast asleep by the time Uther had put the book away, he kissed the top of Arthur’s head, exactly the same way as he did to Morgana before turning out the light and once again silently walking out the room. 

In the spare room Merlin was also drifting off to sleep, sucking his thumb and his eyes gradually closing until they were shut. Gaius wrapping the duvet cover around merlin as if to protect him from the dangers he was facing less than two days ago. Uther poked his head round the door, the heart melting feeling of sadness filling his conscious as he felt the same way about his own children even if he was sometimes unable to show it.

When Gaius forced himself to leave Merlin, telling himself that he wasn’t doing himself of Merlin any favours by loitering around. He caught Uthers gaze as if he was telling him that it was ok to feel protective of him, Gaius knew Uther didn’t need words when it came to expressing something vitally important.

The two adult finally went into their own rooms at the shocking time of eleven o clock. It had taken them an hour and a half longer than usual, however when you had three kids to look after instead of two it often took up a lot more time than expected. Both were utterly exhausted as well as being relived that tomorrow was a Sunday which meant they didnt have to get up early. 

The kids on the other hand may have other ideas. But the two adults weren’t going to worry about it too much until tomorrow had slipped into action.


	3. Sticks and stones

Early the next morning Gaius woke up to silence. Looking over to the clock that was placed on his little table next to the bed he groaned before reluctantly getting out of bed.

Opening his bedroom door the previously quiet atmosphere was interrupted by the repetitive clunking noises and shouting coming from downstairs. Wanting to investigate the cause of the noise Gaius walked down the stairs and into the kitchen once he had figured out where the racket was coming from.

Walking into the kitchen he was greeted to the sight of a huge mess invading the kitchen. A whole box of cereal with the contents of it sprawled around the kitchen floor along with big puddles of milk that had been tossed everywhere, a jam jar with the strawberry jam dripping over the work top making the cupboards underneath too sticky to open properly. To top it off orange juice had been poured all over a plate of toast that was sat on the dining room table in a messy pile. Gaius then turned round to see the guilty faces of Morgana and the grumpy one that belonged to the four year old Arthur.

"What is all this!" Gaius said in disgust.

Morgana put her hand up to explain. "Well after daddy left for work I had this really nice thought of making Merlin some breakfast, so I went downstairs to make him some cereal and jam on toast and Arthur must have followed me because he started interfering and messing it all up."

"I see" Gaius replied calmly.

"Every time I tired to do something he would get in the way no matter how many times I told him not to, and then he began to be even more annoying by chucking food around the kitchen and at me!"

It was then that Gaius spotted the toast crumbs and lumps of jam in her hair.

"I only wanted to do something nice and it's all gone wrong!" Morgana wailed, ducking her head down guiltily.

Gaius gave her a look of sympathy. "Yes it was a nice thought but you should have waited until I had woken up before doing anything as you could have got hurt and that would upset your daddy" he explained softly.

"And Arthur you need to apologise to Morgana as that wasn't a very nice thing to do was it ?"

Arthur responded to his question with a scowl.

Knowing he wouldn't achieve anything else Gaius told the kids to help him tidy up. Arthur however stomped back up to his bedroom, refusing to help out.

"You won't tell daddy will you?" Morgana asked quietly, trembling a little.

Gaius sighed gently. "Of course not but only if you promise that this will never happen again"

"It won't. Thank you uncle Gaius!" Morgana squealed happily before skipping into the living room and up the stairs to have a shower.

Unknown to the others Merlin had witnessed the whole breakfast fiasco and was now rushing towards the spare room and hid under the duvet covers as if to hide from all the scary aspects of life.

After having her shower Morgana heard a faint scrabbling noise coming from the spare room. She quietly opened the door to reveal an empty bed with the duvet neatly placed on top of it. Hearing the noise again but only this time louder she crouched down and looked under the bed, a pair of blue eyes staring back at her.

"Merlin? What are you doing under the bed?" Morgana asked genuinely, however Merlin didn't answer her.

"Uncle Gaius is making us breakfast and then we can do something fun" Morgana said enthusiastically, trying to lure him out from under the bed.

"I'll look after you Merlin I pinky promise" Morgana held out her little finger, having no idea what that meant Merlin took it as an opportunity to come out from under his bed before taking Morgana's hand which she held out for him to grab on to.

Morgana followed by Merlin and still holding hands almost ran down the stairs before offering to help Gaius set the table. Merlin just stood there and watched despite Gaius having said good morning.

"Breakfast!" Morgana called, scaring Merlin a little.

Arthur rushed down the stairs having forgotten the earlier incident. However as he stepped into the kitchen he began to glare at Merlin who had just noticed his stares, shaking in fright.

At this point Morgana had whispered to uncle Gaius about the current situation, "Merlin come sit down" Gaius suggested. Merlin timidly took a seat in between Gaius and Morgana, desperately trying to avoid Arthur and the evil looks he kept passing off.

While the kids were eating their breakfasts that consumed of cheerios and the low calorie strawberry yogurt they always had Gaius took this as an opportunity to plan out what he would do with the kids.

"Uncle Gaius what are we going to do today?" Morgana asked curiously.

"Well erm we could do some drawing " Gaius suggested.

"We could play with water pistols!" Arthur exclaimed enthusiastically , standing up on his chair pretending to have a water pistol in his hand aiming it at Morgana .

"Ugh I don't want to get wet" Morgana complained, covering her head with her hands.

"It's too cold outside Arthur" Gaius added .

"We could play dollies" Morgana said happily.

"Ugh that's a girly game!" Arthur spat.

Merlin had kept quiet throughout the conversation, not wanting to draw attention to himself.

"Ok why don't we do something that we all enjoy" Gaius said kindly. He then added "Merlin is there anything you would like to do or try?"

All eyes were turned to Merlin, some kinder than others.

"Er… I erm…" Merlin stuttered., looking around the room in search of an answer.

"Idiot" Arthur mumbled which Gaius responded to with a firm "stop it."

Suddenly a brief idea came to his head. "Painting?" Merlin questioned nervously.

"That's a good idea Merlin, we shall do some painting after breakfast" Gaius announced earning happy clapping form Morgana and a few moans from Arthur.

"Sissy" Arthur hissed at Merlin while Gaius was setting the painting stuff on the table. Tying the kids aprons Gaius kept shifting glances to Merlin who was stood in the corner fiddling with the green frog apron he had fished out from the garage.

When the kids were finally ready to begin they all sat around the table with Morgana next to Merlin in her frozen apron while Arthur sat next to the left side of Morgana in his green dinosaur apron.

At first the three kids nicely took a sheet of paper each while choosing what color paint they wanted to use. However after the first ten minutes of no fights or tantrums the peaceful atmosphere took a messy turn for the worse.

Merlin had reached over to grab the yellow when Arthur slapped his hands on the tub of yellow paint at the same time. The four year old snatched the paint off of him with a smug look on his face.

"Hey Merlin had that first!" Morgana firmly stated, taking the tub off of Arthur and giving it back to Merlin who was now afraid to touch it.

"Don't be scared I got it back for you" Morgana said kindly.

Before Merlin could even move a muscle Arthur made a quick grab for it before kicking Merlin under the table with a scowl.

"Ow!" Merlin yelped however he didn't run away.

"Arthur stop it you're ruining everything!" Morgana yelled angrily.

At this point Gaius was about to intervene when the unexpected happened.

"Fine you want it so badly, you can have it!" Arthur shouted before horrendously chucking the tub of yellow paint which splashed over Morgana, her painting and Merlin.

"Arthur naughty step now!" Gaius called grumpily while adding "you do not behave like that!"

Arthur kicked over his chair before going to the naughty step with Gaius close behind him.

"He's ruined my painting !" Morgana wailed before bursting into tears and rushing up stairs.

While Gaius was dealing with the drama Merlin was still sat on the table looking at Morgana's yellow soaked painting. He realised she had painted a picture of herself and her family, he also noticed she was just finishing off Merlin when Arthur had unkindly attacked her painting. Picking up the paint brushed Merlin began drawing something on his sheet of paper.

Once Gaius had sorted out the disaster he was more than surprised to see Merlin still at the table.

"What are you doing?" Gaius asked.

Merlin looked up at him revealing the new painting that was identical to Morgana's old one.

All Gaius could do was smile uncontrollably.

"Why don't we show Morgana your painting" Gaius suggested which Merlin soon agreed to and followed him upstairs to Morgana's room.

Knocking on Morgana's door he got no response as expected. Opening her bedroom door they were welcomed by the bright pink painted bedroom walls. Morgana on the other hand was lying on her bed that was covered by her Frozen duvet cover along with an Elsa toy beside her . She was face down on her pillow with her paint covered apron tossed to the floor.

"Morgana" Gaius said, shaking her softly to which Morgana responded by turning around, her tear stained face looking up at him with sorrow.

"Merlin has something to show you" Gaius said kindly before signalling him to come forward.

Merlin held up the picture he had painted that was the same one as Morgana had originally painted. The six year olds facial expression turned from sad to surprised.

"But - but Arthur ruined mine" she stammered.

"I painted you a new one" Merlin admitted awkwardly.

Morgana now had a full smile on her face. "Wow Merlin that's the best painting ever!" She shouted before embracing him in a short hug which Merlin was more than happy to be part of.

For what was left of the day Morgana Merlin and Gaius were sat in the living room doing puzzles, singing songs and drawing each other until Uther had come home to see two happy children. He didn't need anyone to tell him that Arthur had once again done something he shouldn't have judging by the lack of his appearance.

As Morgana explained to him about her day Arthur who so far hadn't been seen was hiding behind the kitchen table glared at Merlin with pure hatred.

Despite the now happy atmosphere Gaius and Uther knew that more trouble could lash out at any future moment.

But for now it was best to put the past behind them ready for what the following day may bring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to note I will try to update this at least once a month.


	4. Sharing is caring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO FELLOW READERS! I am so so SO sorry that I haven't updated until now, it's just that I didn't have any inspiration until now but it's not a good enough excuse.
> 
> Oh and another thing this story will now be chapters of different situations of Arthur Morgana and Merlin being kids with Uther and Gaius still being the adults. No character changes just a few plot changes as my original plot just had too many flaws.
> 
> So I hope you like this chapter and the many more to come I promise as I would never give up on a story.

Since the events of less than a week ago Gaius had begun to fear the worst for Merlin's future. Sure enough, he and Uther had been allowed to be Merlin's permanent guardians as a result of a successful inspection, however, it didn't mean the problems between him and Arthur were going to become any easier to deal with.

Although Gaius was more than aware that it was never going to be easy for Merlin to settle into the Pendragon family, but step by step things seemed to be moving in the right direction.

Today of all days was a bank holiday Monday which also happened to be Morgana's seventh birthday. As there was no school nor did they have anything to do in regards to work, Uther and Gaius had organised a special treat for all three kids.

The day had gone off to a slow start as whenever it was one of the kids birthdays the opening presents time seemed to take forever, especially as Morgana hated ripping the wrapping paper.

"Ooo" I wonder what you've got me, daddy!" Morgana squealed, carefully unwrapping the wrapping paper without making a single tear.

Holding up the Frozen leggings Morgana threw herself into a hug with her father. Embracing her in his arms he chuckled before putting her down to let her open her other presents.

In a matter of minutes, Morgana rushed over to thank Gaius for the brown teddy bear which smelt like chocolate.

"You are very welcome," Gaius responded lightheartedly .

Arthur then moodily handed over the small gift he had 'got for her',even if he hadn't gone with his dad to pick something out. Morgana smile towards her younger brother as she saw the Inside out DVD she had wanted for quite some time.

"Thanks, Arthur," Morgana said, leaning over to give him a little kiss before getting lightly smacked on the hand in response.

"Hey, that's not nice!" Morgana crossly stated.

Having to distract the two kids from arguing Gaius called Merlin over to give his gift to Morgana, he stood on the spot shaking a little and whimpering.

"How stupid," Arthur muttered which Gaius and Uther tried to ignore.

"Come on Merlin." Gaius tried again, this time being successful with Morgana's help as her smile drew him closer to her.

"Here's your gift, I hope you like it," Merlin said timidly before silently handing it over.

Morgana unwrapped the paper to squeal at the lovely gift Merlin had picked out, she waved the Frozen tattoos at Gaius , her father and even Arthur who blew a raspberry.

Without warning Morgana grabbed Merlin's hand and raced over to the downstairs toilet sink where she wet the tattoo of Anna that was to go on Merlin's arm, while putting the Elsa one on her own arm. Soon enough both were giggling at their arms, Uther and Gaius couldn't help but release a small chuckle of their own.

Arthur scowled at their joy.

After clearing up all the wrapping paper the two adults sorted out the kids stuff before leading them towards the car, not telling them where they were going.

Setting off onto their journey the three kids were at first quiet as they watched themselves leave their much-loved village. Once they were on the motor way the previously quiet atmosphere irrupted with volume. Starting with Arthur deciding to kick Morgana multiple times, laughing as he continued much to Morgana's dismay.

"Arthur don't kick me!" Morgana exclaimed, trying to shuffle away from him.

"Arthur!" Uther warned as he drove, but Arthur ignored his warning.

But this time, he had moved on from kicking Morgana to kicking Merlin who only whimpered in response.

"You're such a girl Merlin" Arthur sneered, his laugh scaring the timid brown haired boy.

"Don't be mean" Morgana retorted, standing up for Merlin.

Arthur rolled his eyes, then turning his attention to the window which he soon opened and began spitting out of.

"Ew, uncle Gaius Arthur is spitting out the car window!" Morgana snitched, earning a dark glare from her younger brother.

At this point, Gaius had to intervene. "Arthur you have already been told once to behave, if we have to tell you again there will be no treats for you later."

Gaius's sentence had made a difference to Arthur's behaviour for a certain amount of time, then he began to get restless.

"Dad are we there yet!" Arthur yelled out in frustration as he fidgeted in his seat.

"Soon" Uther replied calmly despite the earlier tension.

"Where are we going daddy?" Morgana asked curiously, forgetting what her father had told her earlier.

"I said it was a surprise sweetie,better" Uther said before cheerfully adding, "but you will like it I promise."

"It better not be anything girly!" Arthur spat in response to his father which he tried to ignore.

When the journey was finally over everyone including the adults were relieved to get out. Helping the kids out the car, Morgana shrieked gleefully once she realised where she was.

Meanwhile the two boys at first looked clueless as to what Morgana was getting so excited about, however their joint question was soon to be answered as Uther announced they were at the aquarium.

"Stop squealing!" Arthur shouted across to Morgana who took pride in ignoring his snide comment.

Merlin tugged at Gaius's trouser leg before softly whispering,"what's an aquarium?"

Before he could answer Morgana got there first.

"An aquarium is where all those fish and other sea creatures live, I've wanted to go for ages!" Morgana explained cheerfully, wrapping herself up in the moment before rushing over to grab Merlin's hand.

Merlin soon found himself running hand in hand with Morgana to the front doors of the aquarium, Uther who had Arthur's hand and Gaius with all their stuff walking behind them as they struggled to catch up with them.

"Slow down you two!" Gaius called, having now caught up with the two racing children.

Morgana turned around to face Gaius, her green eyes glittering in delight. Merlin who had since let go of Morgana's hand looked around as if the building was to swallow him up, however unlike many times before he didn't feel an urge to run away. If anything the last time he had chosen to do so had put him off the idea completely.

Although he could only remember little bits of that day Gaius hadn't been so fortunate. He too had been thinking of the exact same incident of Merlin running away from the swimming pool, it had taken hours to find him curled up in a ball beside their car in the busy car park. They had decided to take the kids home there and then, leading to tantrums from both Morgana and Arthur along with non stop arguments as to why Merlin was receiving lots of attention, despite the fact he had been naughty.

Since that day Uther and Gaius had to become more aware of what was going on at all times.

Shaking the unwanted memory from his mind, Gaius went over to pay for the tickets just before being whisked away by Morgana to look at the fish.

The room was at a reasonable temperature and the walls were lined with tanks of tropical fish, it had made both the adults laugh to see Morgana and Arthur grinning as they watched the fish swim around in their tank.

"Oh look it's Nemo, see I told you he was real!" Morgana exclaimed happily to her father, pointing a finger to the orange and white striped clownfish. Merlin watched Morgana with a confused look on his face that made Gaius suspect he had never seen the film to understand the reference.

"Poor kid," Uther said to Gaius when certain the kids were occupied enough not to overhear their conversation.

"We can watch the film when we get home" Gaius offered before he and Uther's attention was required by the kids.

As they moved along they were soon joined by another family, creating a rush of anxiety for Gaius. Even if he and Uther weren't always keen on socialising with others it had never been such a big concern for them before. Gaius's heart raced as the family gradually moved closer, especially since this was the first time they had taken Merlin anywhere since the swimming fiasco. The main reason they had decided to come here out of all places wasn't just for Morgana, it was for all the kids benefits. Even if their plan to go on a day when less people were to be there backfired slightly.

The urge to run across the room and scoop Merlin into his arms before anything could happen was almost too much for Gaius to fight against. Uther's soft pat on his shoulder assured him that he wasn't the only one feeling that way.

It took all his self-control, and the support of Uther to just stand and watch the kids chat to themselves. Grateful for the fact that for once no one was arguing or irritating each other, sent a never ending feeling of serenity to Gaius's mind.

After five minutes or so Uther went over to his two children and crouched down between them. "Don't they look tasty?" Uther teased as he pointed towards a group of fish.

"Daddy!" Morgana giggled before adding more seriously, " anyway I don't eat fish."

"Your weird" Arthur accused, looking over towards Morgana then back at the fish. Morgana stuck her tongue out in revenge.

Merlin who was now stood next to Gaius, was fascinated by how gracefully the fish swam in their tanks. He reached his hand so his palm was facing the front of the tank as if he was gently luring the fish into his hand.

Gaius smiled to himself as he watched Merlin in his moment of tranquillity.

"There beautiful aren't they Merlin?" Morgana asked from behind, startling him a little before asking her to join him.

"Daddy, come on I'm bored, let's go see something else!" Arthur wined as he tightly gripped his father's hand, refusing to let go until he had accomplished his mission.

"Ok, ok" Uther gave in before leading him and the other two kids to the next room, where they were welcomed to the sight of an octopus in a larger tank.

"Wow it's huge, come over here Merlin!" Morgana said as she lightly grabbed his arm and walked him closer to the octopus tank. At first he shivered at how big it looked, but after being reassured that it was safe his concerns gradually left him.

After seeing the octopus Morgana and Arthur were both desperate to go see the seals outdoors, while Uther and Gaius didn't see the harm Merlin wasn't quite keen on the idea.

"Hmm Gaius, are the seals friendly?" Merlin asked in a small voice, hiding behind Gaius's leg.

Before Gaius could answer Arthur interrupted with, "no, they are seals that only eats boys called Merlin." Arthur grinned evilly when seeing Merlin cower in fright.

"That's not true, don't listen to him" Uther added , giving Arthur a stern look who scowled at Merlin.

"It's just Arthur being silly," Morgana said with pride, offering her hand which Merlin happily accepted.

"Sissy's" Arthur snarled at them once they were beyond hearing distance.

The pendragon family got to the seals just in time for a lady who was about to show them how they fed the seals. Morgana and Arthur choose to get close while Merlin stood behind Morgana, not wanting to get wet. The two adults supervised the children to make sure they didnt get too close for their own safety.

As they watched the seals jump to catch their food all three kids squealed with enjoyment whenever a seal caught a fish, laughing when getting splashed by the water even if Merlin wasn't particularly fond of that part. Once the show had finished their enjoyment of being wet soon evaporated very quickly.

"I'm wet and hungry!" Arthur complained as he trudged up to his father.

"Me too" Morgana joined in but more polity.

Merlin nodded his head in agreement.

"Ok, then let's go have some lunch then we can carry on with our trip," Gaius said, him and Uther leading the kids to the nearest cafe. Watching as the kids had a race to see who could get inside first, Arthur had got there first, then closely followed by Morgana leaving Merlin the last one who trailed beside the two adults.

Looking around the cafe Merlin noticed that the walls were brightly painted in each colour of the rainbow along with the nice temperature as it wasn't the coolest of days.

"Loser!" Arthur shouted towards Merlin so loudly that a few other people turned to look at him as if he was an odd creature.

Ignoring their stares he then spotted a climbing frame outside the cafe garden, he and Morgana rushed off to play while Merlin stayed with Gaius and Uther.

As they were deciding what they wanted to eat Gaius asked Merlin if he had so far enjoyed their day out, being careful not to bring back any memories to do with swimming.

"Yes Gaius" Merlin replied, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Good, were glad" Uther added kindly as he noticed Gaius struggle for words.

Each adult was cut off from their thoughts when they saw a waitress approach them. In the end they had ordered salads for themselves, a chicken burger and chips for the two boys as Merlin had trouble deciding for himself and a margarita pizza for Morgana.

The two adults and Merlin sat in silence as they watched Morgana and Arthur on the climbing frame, pretending to be monkeys.

When their food had arrived the two kids who had previously been on the climbing frames sat down together, Arthur next to his father and Morgana next to Merlin. As each plate was handed out to each person they began eating, only to be disturbed a few minutes later.

At that moment a kid no older than ten decided to rush around the cafe while the floor was being cleaned, then all of a sudden the kid slipped. His arm knocking onto the Pendragon's table, sending half of Arthur's chips and his whole burger flying across onto the floor. Arthur's face was a deep red colour from the impact of his anger.

But before he could scream and yell Merlin shyly pushed his half eaten chips towards Arthur, gesturing him to take them. Gaius and Uther watched in amazement as Arthur eventually accepted the chips without any rudeness or even the slightest bit of cheek. Morgana smiled happily at the lovely heartwarming feeling the moment had brought to them all.

As the kids mother frantically apologised to the two adults the kids had all eaten what they could and waited patiently to continue exploring the aquarium. Having accepted the woman's apology on behalf of her son, Uther, Gaius and the kids spent the rest of the day without any bickering or arguments, which benefited them all as the day drew to a peaceful close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this did turn out to be lame, but hopefully not.


End file.
